National AI Investment Program

South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT allocated $349M for AI development in 2025, covering GPU compute subsidies for Korean AI companies, AI specialist training programs (targeting 10,000 AI engineers annually), and the AI-powered Digital Platform Government initiative. The government also established the National AI Committee, chaired by the President, to coordinate AI policy across ministries.

The compute subsidy program is particularly notable — the government recognized that Korean AI companies cannot compete with US and Chinese rivals without access to sufficient GPU clusters, and is subsidizing compute costs for companies training sovereign AI models. KISTI (Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information) operates national GPU clusters accessible to researchers and startups.

Korea's $349M commitment is modest compared to China's or the US's AI spending, but the country's strength lies in industrial application rather than fundamental research. Korean AI investment is targeted at specific deployment contexts: manufacturing quality control, semiconductor design, shipbuilding optimization, military surveillance, and healthcare diagnostics — areas where Korea already has world-leading industries that can absorb and benefit from AI immediately.